Yea-Ming and the Rumours-Residue

Four albums into their consistent run, Yea-Ming & the Rumours have released their most provocative and pop-forward album yet with Residue. It's no secret that we all hear and experience music differently. It's all part of what makes the artistic world go round. We come to our favorite musicians and groups with certain expectations and on different levels of degrees. Whether it's a major stadium act adorned by millions by or a cult musician who seems tied down by work obligations, it's what keeps us anticipating new albums and searching the internet for show and/or tour announcements. Additionally, we have our preferred phases of our favorites and embrace their "return to form"-whatever subjective form that is.

Sidetracks

Stepping back from what makes listeners feel comfortable, allows musicians space for growth, development and surprise. Being multi-faceted, flexible, and versatile are still part of the criteria used to assess artists. While the Ramones perfected their formula early on and pretty much remained the same before eventually aging out, Blondie took a different trajectory. What if Blondie just stayed in their Lower East Side lane and never merged to bring seemingly disparate elements together for some of the most remarkable pop music of the 20th century? Both bands eventually became legendary, influential and iconic (i.e., t-shirts) which testifies we cannot make very valid or accurate assessments amidst the activity. Time and distance are required for comparison, contrast and reassessment.

Yea-Ming Chen, Photo by Corey Poluk

I came into Residue with an initial reaction regarding the denser production values and I left with the realization that Yea-Ming and the Rumours are making their own way, while striking a balance between the adventurism of Blondie and the straightforwardness of the Ramones. For instance, "Sweet Opiate," a slinky and shimmering dance pop song with a Cardigans/St. Etienne slant, makes clear sense in the context of a group diversifying their sound and expanding their range, while “Uncommon Dreaming” works for those who prefer them tapping into their innate strengths of twangy folk-rock-pop.

Things truly kicked in for me on "Waist" with its resonating line: “Oh, it’s been quite a year” and then a big smile broke over my face when I heard the dashing "Cold." It might be the best song of 2026! It reminded me of a Fastbacks number played by the Feelies! A joyous rush is felt in one vibrant sunburst of a song (albeit with stormy lyrics). Just as this punchy song gets up to full speed, it detours for one of the most charming organ solos ever.

“Cold” is also the transition point that sets the scene for the rest of the album. The second half of the record casts a melancholic, subtle and understated atmosphere, yet the songs retain an innate sense of catchiness and hope through the Darklands. Additionally, these finely-crafted songs are built with high structural integrity as this is arguably the most accomplished version of the Rumours. For instance, the sparkling and spiraling lap steel solo on “Uncommon Dreaming” could be Eóin Galvin’s finest recorded moment.  

 

The album takes on an additional hushed atmosphere a la Cindy on “Birds Fly Home.” Cyclical themes of personal & artistic authenticity contend with contradiction, compromise, the pull of the past, multiple standards and expectations as Yea-Ming musically pauses to gather her thoughts over the course of the second side. After this acknowledgement of cognitive dissonance, reconciliation and transformation can begin again with the human and humble admission of “Mistakes” made. This austere closer, featuring Yea-Ming’s ornate fingerpicking, also evokes Dear Nora’s moving cover of Dylan’s “Girl from the North County.”

As many young bands around the globe now emulate the ‘80s & ‘90s heyday of indie-pop and crash pop, Yea-Ming and the Rumours maintain their unmistakable, yet welcoming sounds. Operating from a perspective of possibility, Yea-Ming demonstrates the remarkable ability to further evolve and refine as she incorporates additional life experiences, lessons and musical approaches, while also retaining the youthful sense of wonder and undeniable melodies that attracted listeners in the first place. With Residue, Yea-Ming has taken another courageous turn and listeners can go along with her quest for understanding.  For me, it took a little longer this time around due to my own production preferences, but I’m thankful for the reckoning as there is really no other group out there like this in the world. 

L to R: Eóin Galvin: lead guitar, lap steel, Yea-Ming Chen: vocals, guitar, organ, Rob Good: bass
Luke Robbins: drums. Photo by Corey Poluk

Addendum, I added their cover of “Pale Blues Eyes” as a bonus track on the CD-R version I made following the path of the Feelies when they concluded Only Life with “What Goes On."

Cassie-The Light Shines On

Cassie were one of the first-rate bands in the second-run Blondie business. The quartet first emerged in 1979 from the Isle of Wight under the name Flirt. The distinctive lead vocals of Debbie Barker place these previously unreleased recordings apart. Further, had these songs been set free in the early ‘80s, they could have given the Photos a run for the money in the UK Blondie sweepstakes. With the audio restoration help of Tim Warren, we can now hear the sounds of what could have been. Blondie (Eat to the Beat-era in particular) does indeed inform the main direction of their sound which radiates the expected strong sense of melody conveying similar themes of image, inspiration and intuition. Blazing guitars, skip-along drums, beguiling vocals and dashing jackrabbit tempos are framed and brought into focus by an overall tautness. The opening title track “The Light Shines On” recalls Katrina and the Waves with its bounciness and jauntiness, while also anticipating the Primitives and their spirals of chiming guitars. When it reaches the sing-along chorus, “Falling” drops into a gliding melody that could have been etched into fuzzy memories of listening to Rock Over London.  Skirting the edges of a show tune in the best way possible with its indelible melody, “Boys Will Be Boys” is the band's showstopper. This straightforward song (not an Undertones cover) could have easily fitted on Ace’s recent Girls Go Power Pop! compilation or slotted on Rhino’s Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s. 

  
“She’s a Flirt” is guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll at its most bracing-serrated with a West Coast raw edge slicing along the Pacific Coast from the Avengers to Agent Orange before cutting back across the Atlantic to Bow Wow Wow and X-Ray Spex.
  
Another highlight is the ringing “Find A Way” that would have felt instantly at home on a Hyped To Death or Shake Some Action compilation. The dub influence which was so pervasive in UK music of the time appears in the digital bonus cut “Driven by the Tide.”  The dub components reappear and are perfectly integrated in the group’s searing & soaring “Will You?” which was the b-side of their lone "Change My Image" single from 1982.
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In retrospect, they had affinity with the mini-movement comprised of female-fronted groups spanning the globe and have gone on to achieve belated recognition like Holly and the Italians, Nikki & the Corvettes, the Mn'Ms, the Shivvers and even the Go-Go’s. The high tide of the new wave movement did raise all ships and thankfully began to open opportunities for groups led by women. It could also be stated, the quartet foreshadowed the later punky power-pop-ish sounds of Fastbacks, Supersnazz, Helen Love and Baby Shakes. It's undeniably exciting to hear these female-fronted treasures, sparked by the spirit of ‘77 and carried along by the changing currents of the new wave, resurface 40 years later to shine in the light of now.